1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a loading mechanism for loading and/or unloading at least one memory card into/from an electronic apparatus, comprising a first transport mechanism for the transport of the memory card between an eject position and an intermediate position, a second transport mechanism for the transport of the memory card between the intermediate position and a play position, and a drive unit for driving the two transport mechanisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a loading mechanism is known from Japanese Patent Application JP 05046816. This known loading mechanism comprises two rollers as the first transport mechanism, these rollers being mounted on a drive shaft and conveying the memory card non-positively from the eject position into the intermediate position by exerting pressure on the surface of said card. The eject position is defined as the position in which the memory card can be removed by hand from the electronic apparatus by a user. The intermediate position is situated a short distance in front of before a connector element of the electronic apparatus, this connector element being adapted to contact a connector element of the memory card. The position in which the connector element of the memory card is in contact with the connector element of the electronic apparatus and in which, as a result of this, information stored on the memory card can be read out by the electronic apparatus or information can be written into the memory card by the electronic apparatus, is referred to as the play position.
In this known construction, the drive unit is an electric motor, which drives the drive shaft via a first transmission. The first transport mechanism conveys the memory card with a comparatively high speed and a comparatively small traction force. The second transport mechanism is a pivotal lever having teeth which can mesh with a reduction gear. The reduction gear is constructed as a toothed-wheel transmission. By means of two guide pins, the pivotal lever urges the connector element of the memory card into the connector element of the electronic apparatus with a substantial force. The guide pins are actuated by means of a solenoid.
Such a construction requires a substantial mounting space and large number of parts.